…where the ladies are headstrong and the man is outnumbered.

Kings and Queens by Terry Tyler

I learned something new about my husband of eleven years on our last road trip. He, who can solve an issue in a chemical reaction, spout dates and facts from WWII at will and re-plumb a water line as a matter of course, had no idea how many shenanigans King Henry VIII had been involved in.

I discovered this when I, historical fiction fan that I am, offered to read Kings and Queens, a contemporary retelling of the saga that was Henry VIII, aloud to him on our last road trip.

We spent hours reading and talking. John shouting “THIS IS SUCH A TRAIN-WRECK!” and me giggling at “aggressive” business tactics while reminding him that all those employees that were “fired” in this book had their heads removed in real life. I often interrupted the story to tell him how impressed I was to see how different events had been changed to work in the modern setting, while he impatiently banged on the steering wheel because he wanted to know what happened next. We took breaks from the book after each wife to head to the internet and brush up on our history and had hours of fun!

Would I recommend it? Henry VIII’s life was nothing if not a compelling train-wreck of a story, and Terry Tyler’s re-telling of it is no different whether you are a Tudor history buff… or not!

I love this! Yes, yes, I know, I did keep thinking, oh God, I can’t make this person die AS WELL…!! As soon as I started planning it I thought, right, now, all these beheadings…. and over 50% of the real life people were called Thomas, which didn’t help. I hope you enjoyed the ‘subtle’ quips such as Annette Hever’s rock band being called Traitor’s Gate, etc – Keira Howard, with all her historical counterpart’s secret shenanigans was possibly the easiest to write; what else could a precocious yet naive little hussy like she be but a lap dancer??!! So glad I kept you entertained, anyway, and do thank your husband 🙂

I loved the subtle quips and nods to history in the names and everything else they kept me on my toes! Keira Howard was so well done (precocious naive little hussy indeed!) and having her speak through her diary was perfect. She was so good and OH so painful to have to read out loud!!! 🙂

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